Microbes Find Their Niche in Underwater Shipwrecks

Early investigations of the microbial communities in and around sunken boats reveal that there are patterns to where bacteria settle.

Written byJef Akst

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ABOVE: Microbiologist Erin Field (center) holds a shipwreck core that maritime archaeologist Nathan Richards (left) drilled from the hull of the Pappy Lane, while Field’s student Kyra Price holds a sterile bag for its collection.
JOHN MCCORD, UNC COASTAL STUDIES INSTITUTE

Armed with a battery-powered underwater drill, maritime archaeologist Nathan Richards ducked his face into the Atlantic Ocean. It was a sunny afternoon in September 2017, and Richards was standing in waist-deep water atop a wrecked ship called the Pappy Lane, which ran aground off the coast of North Carolina in the 1960s. With students looking on, Richards peered through his mask and skillfully applied pressure to push the 1.5-inch circular drill bit into the ship’s steel hull under his feet. As the director of maritime studies at East Carolina University (ECU), Richards had studied hundreds of shipwrecks over the years, and had even drilled core samples of some, but this ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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